Louver assembly for cooling towers

Claim 1

A CROSS-FLOW WATER COOLING TOWER COMPRISING: A GENERALLY UPRIGHT CASING HAVING AN UPRIGHT AIR INLET IN ONE SIDE THEREOF AND AIR OUTLET MEANS SPACED FROM SAID AIR INLET; GENERALLY HORIZONTAL HOT WATER DISTRIBUTION MEANS ON SAID CASING ADJACENT THE UPPER PORTION THEREOF; A COLD WATER COLLECTION BASIN POSITIONED ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF SAID CASING; SPLASH TYPE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS IN SAID CASING BELOW SAID HOT WATER DISTRIBUTION MEANS BETWEEN THE AIR INLET AND THE AIR OUTLET MEANS WHEREBY WATER FROM THE HOT WATER DISTRIBUTION MEANS GRAVITATES ONTO AND THROUGH THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS INTO SAID BASIN, SAID FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS BEING PROVIDED WITH A RELATIVELY LARGE NUMBER OF SUPERIMPOSED, VERTICALLY SPACED, HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED FILL LAYERS, THE OUTER FACE OF SAID FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS IN CLOSEST PROXIMITY TO SAID AIR INLET GENERALLY RECEDING FROM THE VERTICAL IN A DIRECTION INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY TOWARD THE BASIN; FAN MEANS ON THE CASING FOR PULLING AIR IN THROUGH SAID INLET AND FOR DISCHARGING THE AIR THROUGH SAID OUTLET MEANS AS THE AIR IS CAUSED TO MOVE SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY ACROSS THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS BY SAID FILL LAYERS. LOUVER STRUCTURE MOUNTED ON THE CASING INDEPENDENT OF THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS IN DISPOSITION INCLINED FROM THE VERTICAL AND LOCATED ACROSS SAID INLET OF THE CASING IN GENERALLY COMPLEMENTAL, SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL, PROXIMAL UNDERLYING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID OUTER FACE OF THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS FOR GRAVITATION FOR HOT WATER FROM THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS ONTO THE LOUVERS, SAID STRUCTURE INCLUDING AN UPRIGHT STACK OF PARTIALLY VERTICALLY SUPERIMPOSED, GENERALLY HORIZONTAL, ELONGATED, SPACED, PARALLEL, TRANSVERSELY INWARDLY INCLINED LOUVERS SPANNING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL WIDTH AND HEIGHT OF SAID AIR INLET, EACH OF THE LOUVERS OF SAID STACK THEREOF BEING POSITIONED WITH THE UPPER SURFACES THEREOF IN DIRECT FACING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID OUTER FACE OF THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS, AND EACH DISPOSED IN HORIZONTALLY OFFSET RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO NEXT ADJACENT LOUVERS WITH THE LOWER MARGIN OF EACH LOUVER OVERLYING A HORIZONTAL, TRANSVERSELY INTERMEDIATE, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING AREA OF THE LOUVER NEXT THEREBELOW TO EFFECT DISCHARGE OF WATER FROM THE LOWER MARGIN OF EACH LOUVER RESPECTIVELY TO SAID HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING INTERMEDIATE AREA OF THE LOUVER NEXT THEREBELOW AND IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO THE LOWER MARGIN OF SAID NEXT LOUVER, THE UPRIGHT MARGINS OF THE CASING ADJACENT SAID OUTER FACE OF THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS BEING INCLINED FROM THE VERTICAL AT AN ANGLE TO CONFORM WITH THE GENERAL INCLINED CONFIGURATION OF SAID OUTER FACE OF THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS AND THE STACK OF LOUVERS, AND SAID BASIN COMPLETELY UNDERLYING THE FILL ASSEMBLY WITH ONE END WALL THEREOF LOCATED ADJACENT THE LOWER HORIZONTAL MARGIN OF THE OWERMOST LOUVER OF SAID STACK, EACH PAIR OF ADJACENT LOUVERS OF SAID STACK BEING LO CATED IN SUFFICIENT VERTICAL SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO CAUSE IMAGINARY HORIZONTAL PLANES THROUGH THE LOWER MARGINS AND UPPER MARGINS RESPECTIVELY OF SAID ADJACENT LOUVERS TO BE LOCATED IN VERTICALLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP, EACH LOUVER HAVING A TRANSVERSE WIDTH WHOSE PROJECTED VERTICAL HEIGHT IS SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE EFFECTIVE VERTICAL HEIGHT OF AT LEAST THREE OF THE HORIZONTAL FILL LAYERS OF SAID FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS WHEREBY THE LOUVER STACK CONTAINS SPLASH AND FINES FROM SAID FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS; AND TROUGH MEANS FOR EACH OF THE LOUVERS, SAID TROUGH MEANS EXTENDING FROM A POSITION BENEATH A PORTION OF SAID FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS TO A LOCATION IN OVERLYING RELATIONSHIP TO A CORRESPONDING LOUVER FOR DIRECTING AN ADDITIONAL SUPPLY OF HOT WATER FROM THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS ONTO A RESPECTIVE LOUVER TO HELP PREVENT ACCUMULATION OF ICE ON SAID LOUVERS, EACH OF SAID TROUGH MEANS BEING NARROWER THAN THE WIDTH F A RESPECTIVE LOUVER LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF AND INCLINED DOWNWARDLY FROM THE FILL TOWARD A CORRESPONDING LOUVER TO EFFECT FLOW OF WATER FROM THE FILL ASSEMBLY MEANS TO SAID LOUVERS.